In a rare visit to the United States, prominent Iranian-Kurdish political party leader Mustafa Hijri is in the process of extensive meetings in Washington, D.C. including with multiple members of U.S. Congress, House Foreign Affairs Committee, the National Endowment for Democracy, and public interview on Voice of America. This follows a preceding visit to Germany involving meetings with German officials.

Mr. Hijri's visit to Europe and the United States coincides with the deployment of PDKI's Peshmerga forces to the Kurdish regional border area between Iran and Iraq.

Mr. Hijri is head of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), headquartered at a compound in the Sulimani area of Iraq, near the Iranian border. PDKI is one of the leading political parties, for the population of over 4 million Kurds in Iran. Mr. Hijri has been a democratically elected and leading part of the political party since 1979.

With much appreciation to those of you in leading US press who follow my newsletters, please know that through Kurdish friends, there were a few times Mr. Hijri and I attempted to meet in Iraq, though due to security threats local transit did not allow. However, his team in Erbil was very welcoming.

Mr. Hijri is now in Washington, D.C. and available for comment over the next few days with regards to Iranian aggression in Iraq, human rights atrocities by the Iranian government against Iranian Kurds, and the Iranian nuclear negotiations.

Our mutual friend Brigadier General Ernest Audino (US Army, Ret.) is available for joint comment in support of Mr. Hijri and the Kurdish people. General Audino has been featured in multiple interviews, ranging from local radio in the northeast to FoxNews.

General Audino graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1983 and retired in 2011 after a 28-year Army career. He is an experienced combat operator with multiple assignments in armor, cavalry, infantry and Stryker units. Other key assignments include service as an Army Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Senate, duty as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Director of Nuclear Support at the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. His last assignment was as the Deputy Director of Operations for Headquarters, US Army, in the Pentagon. He considers his most significant assignment to be his service in Iraq where he commanded a team of combat advisors embedded in the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 4th Division, Iraqi Army. His brigade was formed entirely from Kurdish Peshmerga re-missioned to conduct counter-insurgency operations. His education includes: Bachelor of Science, United States Military Academy, West Point; Master of Law, Cum Laude, Vermont Law School; Juris Doctorate, Vermont Law School; and Master of National Security and Strategic Studies, U.S. National War College.

Please contact me to schedule an interview, or to request more information.